DIAGNOSIS (goodi): Alarge species, to 50.0 mm SVL. Pachydactylus goodi may be distinguished from all other members of the P. serval/weberi group by the combination of the following characters: nasal region not strongly inflated laterally; rostral excluded from nostril; supranasals in contact anteriorly; scales on snout and canthus flattened to weakly domed, those of interorbital and parietal regions tiny, granular, with larger, rounded, conical tubercles interspersed; scales on snout equal to or greater than size to interorbital tubercles; dorsal scalation heterogeneous, with relatively large, oval, strongly keeled tubercles arranged in approximately 16–18 regular rows; large keeled to mucronate tubercles on thighs; toes relatively short, toe pads relatively narrow; five undivided lamellae beneath digit IVof pes; tail to at least 113% of SVL, annulate, bearing whorls of large, pointed, strongly keeled tubercles, separated from each other by a single, narrow scale row; adult pattern chocolate to purplish-brown with a series of three very bold, white, complete transverse bands with well-defined, thick, dark brown margins: one from posteroventral margin of orbits across nape, one at mid-body and one presacral; white markings also present on the dorsum of thighs and on proximal forelimbs and forelimb insertions;tail with alternating mid-brown and white to cream, dark edged bands (Figs 113–115 in Bauer et al. 2006); juvenile pattern as adult (Fig. 116 in Bauer et al. 2006).

Comment

Distribution: see map in BRANCH et al. 2011.

Synonymy: Šmíd et al. 2018 synonymized P. goodi with P. atorquatus.

Etymology

Named after the fact that it is the only member of the Pachydactylus weberi group that never possesses a pale nape band or collar: atorquatus, Latin for “without a collar or necklace”. Although absent or faded in the adults of some other members of the group, a collar is present in hatchlings and juveniles of all other species in the group.

P. goodi was named after David A. Good who, with the first and third authors, performed a herpetofaunal survey of the Richtersveld and collected much of the material of the P. weberi group from along the lower Orange Valley during the mid-1990s.

Bauer, A.M.; Barts, M. & Hulbert, F. 2006. A new species of the Pachydactylus weberi group (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Orange River, with comments on its natural history. Salamandra 42 (2-3): 83-92 - get paper here

Mashinini, P. L. and Mahlangu, L. M. 2013. An annotated catalogue of the types of gekkonid lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) in the Herpetology collection of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, South Africa. Annals of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History 3: 165-181